Wednesday, 13 February 2013

I'm Back *waves*

Boy I needed that!! After a year of posting every day I needed a break...needed to NOT feel like I HAD to post something and now after, what?, a month and a half? I finally feel ready to face my lovely wee blog again. Cause it is lovely...it just kinda had it's 'this is a chore' moments and I had to step away so that I could love it again!

Sooooo, I did it...I actually managed to create something every single day for an entire year. Am I proud of myself? Well, yes I am a bit, cause at times it really wasn't easy, but posting the last one on NYE was a bit of an anticlimax. It could have been because I had full blown flu (yep, snotters everywhere, hot and cold sweats, throat like broken glass....the whole kit and caboodle!) or it could have been cause I was left with a 'What next?' feeling. I'm not entirely sure I've worked out 'What next?' BUT

I have spent my month and a half making some big decisions and I've decided to take the bull by the horns and try and earn a living from my art! *gulps*. I've gone through all my pictures from the last year and have picked out the ones I thought were the best...then my friend gave me a slap (not an actual one) and added a whole load more that I'd rejected! Sheesh...she is rather bossy that friend of mine but she told me in no uncertain terms that I was in no position to make decisions on whether my work was 'good' or not! Then I scanned...and scanned...and scanned...did I mention that I did some scanning? Cause I did you know...lots of scanning! And then I had a meeting...a big scary one...where I took my work and showed it to an Art Director...you know...someone that didn't need to be nice about my work...AND she was nice! In fact she was nicer than nice...commented that if it wasn't just after Christmas she would have commissioned me to do a piece for her!! How exciting is that!?

So here's what I'm going to be doing

- Updating my Etsy shop to incorporate the best of last years pictures (Still working on getting all the images looking as good as I can...since it's all image based that's kinda important)
- Sorting out my pricing cause I've really not got that right
- Offering 'Family Tree' or 'Tree of Life' commissions (No-one else, that I have found, is offering anything similar which should be a good thing for me!)
- Creating three workshops based on my 'Family Tree' illustrations - one for a morning, one for a day and one for a weekend which I will be paid for delivering at a local (and prestigious) Art Centre
- Exhibiting 5 pieces at Npower for Charity
- Illustrating a book of short stories
- Visiting a local Care Home and working with another artist
- Exhibiting at the Art Centre's Christmas Fair

What I might be doing
- A 'Tree of Life' Commission for a 50th birthday
- A 'Tree of Life' workshop at a private school

Still waiting to hear about those! So, as you can see, I've been busy!

Great post! You illustration is coming out in the residency book bundle in April and the books look great! I also mentioned your name in a commissioning meeting for Project X in case they decide to commission an illustrator externally. Last but not least I think you should pitch your 'tree' work to the 'Not the High Street' chain!

Mel - Hahaha, definitely not lost my mojo...In fact I couldn't get to sleep last night cause I had a drawing buzzing away in my head and every time I closed my eyes I could see it!!

Has your picture turned up yet? I'm starting to get a bit worried about it!

DJ - Very exciting!! Will I get a copy of the book bundle once it's done? Would love to see it! Ooohhh commissioning meeting sounds even more exciting...I will wait with fingers crossed to see how that turns out!

'Not the High Street' is on my list of places to research but I think you have to pay a pretty stiff fee to be included...someone told me it's about £500 a year to be involved. I have no idea whether that is right or not so it's on my research list!

Talon - Hey lovely lady so nice to hear from you. You have been in my thoughts! Hahaha, yes...she is a good friend (albeit a bit bossy!).

Oh--yesyesyes......lovely painting has arrived! Dangit, I thought I said that in another place... Lovely painting has arrived--and wow! WOW. I 'get' how you can't sleep at night with those wonders swirling around in your brain.

Jennifer - That is a lovely thing to say!! I just kinda bumble along hoping that I'm doing the right things and making the right decisions! Guess time will tell on the success front but if you never try then you never know! I would much rather try and fail (can learn a lot from getting it wrong) than not try at all!

The best part of my day - Every day for TWO YEARS!!! Blimey! I take my hat off to you *takes off hat* that must have been hard work! I don't think I could have kept up the pace for another year! Yeah, when you feel like it is much much easier and, I think, more interesting cause you wait till you have something to say rather than saying something cause you have to...if you know what I mean!

Thanks for visiting my blog. I shall now pop over to yours for a nosy :-)

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About Me

You are now entering the weird and wonderful world of Carol Burns where flights take you into outer space, DNA floats above your head and people talk in colours.
Carol is an artist and illustrator well known for her slightly strange line drawings, her acrylic paintings using gold/silver/copper leaf and her Illustrated Family Tree/Family Home pieces.

All images and words on this blog are copyright of Carol Burns. Please do not reproduce them in any form without seeking permission first.

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Some Terms:

Blind Contour Drawing - is a technique used to help develop communication between the hand and the eye. Contour means that you draw the outline of the item and doing it 'blind' means that you don't look at what you are drawing.I love it cause I think it captures the essence of what your drawing without you having to replicate it exactly.

Collage - is a term used to describe both the technique and final piece of art in which pieces of paper, photographs, fabric and other ephemera are arranged and stuck to a supporting surface.